Two types of elevators are used in high-rise buildings; those of the zone system and those of the sky lobby system. In the zone system, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the service floors are divided into plural banks by means of units A–E, and an express region is defined for operation between the building lobby LG (the lobby is on the ground floor) and the various banks except the lowermost bank.
In FIG. 8, “P” stands for elevator pit; “M” stands for the mechanical section; and “L” stands for the lobby. The densely hatched areas indicate service floors (serviced floors), and the widely hatched areas indicate express regions (bypassed floors).
In FIG. 8(a), unit A provides service in the region between building lobby LG and a prescribed floor Ls1 above.
In unit B, the region between building lobby LG and floor Ls1 is an express region, and Unit B provides service in the region between floor Ls1 and floor Ls2, which is above said floor Ls1 by a prescribed number of floors.
In unit C, the region between building lobby LG and floor Ls2 is an express region, and unit C provides service in the region between said floor Ls2 and upper floor Ls3, which is above said floor Ls2 by a prescribed number of floors.
In unit D, the region between building lobby LG and floor Ls3 is an express region, and unit D provides service in the region between said floor Ls3 and upper floor Ls4, which is above said floor Ls3 by a prescribed number of floors.
In unit E, the region between building lobby LG and floor Ls4 is an express region, and unit E provides service in the region between said floor Ls4 and upper floor Lsx, which is above said floor Ls4 by a prescribed number of floors.
It has been found that, usually, a building height of 40–50 floors (200 m high) is the limit for said zone system. This system has been used, e.g., in the Tokyo Metro Building, the Shinjuku Nomura Building, and the Sunshine 60 Building in Japan, and in the Empire State Building and other buildings in the United States.
On the other hand, in the sky lobby system, as shown in FIG. 8(b), a sky lobby acts as a relay lobby on floor Ls3 at approximately the midpoint of the total height of the building. There is an express (direct) shuttle elevator that goes only to this sky lobby. Then, local elevators are placed in a zone constitution with said building lobby and sky lobby as their respective starting points. (The name “sky lobby” denotes the position of the lobby when viewed from the ground floor).
In FIG. 8(b), unit A provides service for the region from building lobby LG to upper floor Ls1 which is above said building lobby by a prescribed number of floors.
In unit B, the region between building lobby LG and floor Ls1 is an express region, and unit B provides service in the region between said floor Ls1 and upper floor Ls2, which is above said floor Ls1 by a prescribed number of floors.
In unit C, the region between building lobby LG and floor Ls2 is an express region, and unit C provides service in the region between said floor Ls2 and upper floor Ls3 (sky lobby), which is above said floor Ls2 by a prescribed number of floors.
Unit D stops only at building lobby LG and said sky lobby (floor Ls3); its movement is based on designating this region as an express region.
Unit A′ is a bank arranged along the same elevator shaft as that of said unit A, and it provides service for the region between sky lobby (floor Ls3) and floor Ls4, which is above said floor Ls3 by a prescribed number of floors.
Unit B′ is a bank arranged along the same elevator shaft as that of said unit B, where the region from the sky lobby (floor Ls3) to said floor Ls4 is an express region. It provides service for the region between floor Ls4 and floor Ls5, which is above said floor Ls4 by a prescribed number of floors.
The sky lobby system can be used effectively in buildings at least 200 m tall. For example, this system has been used in the Petronas Tower in Malaysia, the Jingmao and Bank of China Buildings in China, the Central Plaza Building in Hong Kong, the T&C Tower in Taiwan, as well as the Yamao Park Tower and the 1-Roppongi Plan Building in Japan.
However, in skyscrapers at least 300 m tall, the number of local elevators zones divided by the sky lobby into upper and lower portions increases (lower, middle, higher, . . . ). For ultrahigh skyscrapers 400 m tall or higher, as the number of banks (zones) of local elevators increases, two sky lobbies may be used in another example of the sky lobby system.
The elevator scheme using this system has shuttle elevators dedicated to the first and second sky lobbies. Together with the ground-level lobby (building lobby), the three lobbies, that is, upper, middle and lower lobbies, are the base points. As a result, an economical design is realized. For example, this system has been adopted in the Sears Tower and the World Trade Center in the United States.
(1) In the zone system shown in FIG. 8(a), by adjusting the number of banks for each specific height (floor number) of the building, it is possible to ensure a uniform service level. However, as the building height increases, the number of banks of the elevator increases. Consequently, the area of the elevator shaft of the express zone of the higher bank (express region) becomes larger, and this affects the overall space of the elevator. Also, the space of the elevator shaft for each floor in the direction of the lower bank also becomes larger, so that the effective space for construction of the lower floors decreases, which is undesirable.
Elevators that service the higher banks, such as unit D and unit E, are required to move at high speed. As a result, the required capacity of the motor (hoisting devices) increases, and, since they are operated at high speed, the noise level also increases, which is undesirable.
Also, a long time is required to move between banks, which is a problem. That is, when moving from a given floor between building lobby LG and floor Ls1 to a prescribed floor between floor Ls2 and floor Ls3, the passenger first takes unit A to go to floor Ls1, where the passenger transfers to unit B to go to floor Ls2; the passenger then transfer to unit C to reach the destination floor. This route requires the passenger to make two transfers, and all of the local elevator regions are used. Consequently, the travel time is very long.
In another route, the passenger takes unit A to go to building lobby LG, where the passenger transfers to unit C to reach the destination floor. In this case, if the passenger arrives at building lobby LG immediately after unit C elevator has left, the passenger must wait a long time since said unit C must service the service area and then return to building lobby LG.
(2) In the sky lobby system shown in said FIG. 8(b), the main line (local elevator) is divided into upper and lower portions, so that the express region can be more than halved as compared with said zone system. Also, the speed can be reduced. As a result, an economical design (smaller space) can be realized.
However, as in the aforementioned zone system, the time for moving between banks is also long in this case. That is, for example, when going from a given floor between building lobby LG and floor Ls1 and a given floor between floor Ls2 and floor Ls3, the passenger first takes unit A to go to floor Ls1, where the passenger transfers to unit B and goes to floor Ls2; then, the passenger transfers to unit C to reach the destination floor. This route requires the passenger to make two transfers, and all local elevator regions are used. Consequently, the travel time is very long.
In another route, the passenger takes unit A to go to building lobby LG, where the passenger transfers to unit C to reach the destination floor. In this case, if the passenger arrives at building lobby LG immediately after unit C elevator has left, the passenger must wait a long time since said unit C has to service the service area and then return to building lobby LG.
As explained above in a further example of the sky lobby system, two sky lobbies are used, one with dedicated sky lobby shuttle elevator arranged next to another dedicated sky lobby shuttle elevator. Consequently, the elevator shaft space takes up about ¼ to ⅓ of the overall space of the building, which is undesirable.
Usually, as the building becomes height increases, the space occupied by the elevator shaft also increases, and the effective space of the building becomes smaller (for example, in Landmark Tower in Yokohama, Japan, the space occupied by the elevator shaft is about ⅓ of the overall space of the building).
Moreover, the total required capacity of the elevator equipment may be much greater than that for the zone system.
In addition, in an ultra-high skyscraper at least 500 m tall, it is predicted that plural (3 or more) sky lobbies should be used. In this case, too, it is necessary to arrange a dedicated shuttle elevator for each sky lobby. Here, the shuttle elevator uses most of the elevator shaft space as an express region, and an increase in the number of the shuttle elevators leads to an increase in ineffectively used space in the express region, which is undesirable.
The purpose of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art by providing an elevator device of a multi-sky-lobby system characterized by the fact that the space of the elevator shaft and the space required for the entire elevator system can be reduced, and, at the same time, the speed can be reduced so that the necessary motor capacity is decreased; in addition, movement between various floors is simplified.